1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a feeding device for feeding animals, especially hogs and pigs, said feeding device comprising a base designed with a trough over which, on a frame fastened to the base, a tube is suspended, said tube constituting at its upper end a container for storing feed and at its lower end a dispenser unit for dispensing the feed, said tube being suspended and guided at least two members, an upper suspension member and a lower guiding member, the upper suspension member is fixedly mounted on the upper part of the frame and the tube is suspended on the frame in the upper suspension member, said tube is mounted non-adjustable and non-displaceable in the vertical direction in relation to said upper suspension member,
2. Description of Related Art
A feeding device for feeding hogs and pigs is known from WO-93/13652. The feeding device comprises a base on which a trough is formed. Mounted on this base is a frame partitioning the trough. On this frame and directly over the centre of the trough a tube is mounted. This tube serves as a feed dispenser at its bottom and as a feed container at its top.
The function of the feeding device is such that the animal, when hungry, presses its snout against the dispenser part in order to displace it. This is possible since the dispensing part is made from an elastic flexible material. The deflection of the tube will result in a larger opening between the trough and the opening of the tube, and feed will be dispensed onto the trough,
However, a feeding device of the above-mentioned type involves disadvantages. Among other things, it has turned out to be difficult to provide an elastic flexible tube for a young pig, Firstly, it is hard to modify the physical properties of the feeding device so as to adapt it optimally to the forces which the animals exert on the tube, i.e. the sizes of the animals, Secondly, the tube will be costly in production since an elastic flexible material is relatively expensive. Thirdly, it is not possible in a simple manner to adjust the amount of feed to be dispensed from the tube.
FR 2,660,155 describes another feeding device also with a flexible tube, mounted inside a rigid tube. The function of the feeding device is, however, similar to the function of the feeding device described above and thus exhibits the same disadvantages.
DE 2,652,788 describes a feeding device, which is provided with an annular ring around a stiff tube. The amount of feed that is determined by the angle to which the stiff tube can be pivoted. This angle is determined by the ring, the lower it is put, the smaller the angle the tube can make, the less feed comes out of the tube.
All the feeding devices described control the amount of food being led to the trough by adjusting the distance between the outlet of the feeding tube and the trough. This adjustment is made by a vertical movement of the feeding tube.